1. Plenty to play for

It’s no surprise anymore, but there’s plenty at stake for the Bulldogs heading into this one.

A win over Port Adelaide could see the Dogs finish as high as second on the ladder, pending Melbourne beats Geelong on Saturday.

A loss however, could see the Dogs slip out of the top four – pending Brisbane beats West Coast and makes up the 1.8 percentage buffer.

The Bulldogs will be looking to bounce back after two consecutive defeats though, and will be keen to regain some momentum as they embark on their 2021 finals campaign.

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2. By the stats sheet

There really isn’t much that separates these two sides from a stats perspective – at least on paper.

This season, the Bulldogs have kicked 13.2 goals on average, while Port is averaging 12.7 goals.

In terms of inside 50s, both teams again have similar numbers – the Bulldogs averaging 55.3 per match, and the Power averaging 53.8 per match.

The Dogs do have their opposition well-covered in terms of centre clearances (averaging 13) and total clearances (averaging 40), but Port ranks second-best in the league for average intercepts (73.2) and contested marks (13.6).

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3. Stars of the show

Marcus Bontempelli and Ollie Wines have starred for their respective teams across the 2021 season.

Both are proven match-winners, and both are tipped to poll quite well on Brownlow night.

You only have to look as far as their AFLCA votes this season too, to see just how respected they are among the coaches.

At the end of round 21 – the last time the coaches’ votes were released – Bontempelli sat in second place with 101 votes.

Wines isn’t too far off either, with 91 votes in fourth spot.

We can’t wait to see how these two go head-to-head.

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4. Last time they met

Just under 14 weeks have passed since these two sides last faced off in round nine.

And despite heading into the match as underdogs, it was the Bulldogs who emerged victorious, stunning the Power by 19 points on their home deck.

Marcus Bontempelli was best-on-ground with 26 disposals, two goals and seven inside 50s, followed closely behind by Tom Liberatore (27 disposals, 12 clearances), Jack Macrae (32 disposals, six clearances) and Caleb Daniel (26 disposals, five marks).

Aaron Naughton finished with a four-goal haul, while Cody Weightman’s miraculous over-his-shoulder snap saw him earn a Goal of the Year nomination.

Let’s hope for a similar outcome on Friday night.

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